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Control arm bushing replacement

Electrichorseman

NAXJA Forum User
I'm planning on replacing the control are bushings in my 88. First a couple of questions...

I found a set of new control arms with bushings $78. Is it worth buying these instead of buying new bushings.

Also, how hard is it to replace the bushings or control arms. I have lots of time and tools so baring taking most of the front end apart is it fairly easy?

Thanks in advance for the answers!

Ken C.
 
Do the new control arms have OEM or good aftermarket (Moog etc.) bushings?

If so I would call that a no brainer.

I don't know how hard they are to replace and honestly I would think that would be greatly dependent on the corrosion or lack thereof on the fasteners.
 
Is that price on all four control arms? I just picked up 2 Moog bushings yesterday $21 my price. I think the regular price was $26 a pair, times 4 control arms, $104.
 
Buy new OEM arms from a place like Quadratec, and after your done swapping the arms, just for the hell of it, try to get the bushings out of the twenty five year old arms. You will be glad you didn't. New arms will be stronger, not having a quarter century of rust and corrosion. You'll have enough trouble replacing the upper arm's axle-end bushings.
 
Buy new OEM arms from a place like Quadratec, and after your done swapping the arms, just for the hell of it, try to get the bushings out of the twenty five year old arms. You will be glad you didn't. New arms will be stronger, not having a quarter century of rust and corrosion. You'll have enough trouble replacing the upper arm's axle-end bushings.

They are tough without the tool for sure. We fabricated a tool out of exhaust pipe, all-thread and washers. Mopar makes a tool also...I forget the part #.

As far as the control arms themselves....I took the new upper and lower bushings to a muffler place and had them expand a piece of pipe that would just fit over the largest outside edge of the bushing. Then you place pipe on the ground, place control arm on pipe and use the big hammer technique...works REALLY good. Also, we sprayed penetrating oil beginning about a week before the job.
 
I don't know if this is pertinent to this discussion but I used to do a lot of work on Studebakers, and the best way to change those control arm bushings is to walk them out with an air hammer with a blunt chisel in it. Then press them in with whatever you have handy (sockets, all-thread, whatever.) Electrolytic derusting of the parts once the bushings are out is nice too. Oven cleaner gets all the grease off. It's still a lot of work and if new ones were available for a reasonable price I'd think about it.
 
One of the reasons I suggested new control arms was to replace twenty-five year old formed, fatigued sheet-metal arms, not just the spent bushings. Think about how the arms twist as the front end cycles up and down, rarely ever evenly. They're cheap enough, and used hard enough, that they should be though of as a consumable, and not an irreplaceable part. A typical control arm does not twist torsionally, these do.
 
One of the reasons I suggested new control arms was to replace twenty-five year old formed, fatigued sheet-metal arms, not just the spent bushings. Think about how the arms twist as the front end cycles up and down, rarely ever evenly. They're cheap enough, and used hard enough, that they should be though of as a consumable, and not an irreplaceable part. A typical control arm does not twist torsionally, these do.

I agree. When I do these, it's the entire control arm.
 
Buy new OEM arms from a place like Quadratec, and after your done swapping the arms, just for the hell of it, try to get the bushings out of the twenty five year old arms. You will be glad you didn't. New arms will be stronger, not having a quarter century of rust and corrosion. You'll have enough trouble replacing the upper arm's axle-end bushings.

How do you get those out?

Just for kicks and grins when I replaced my lower arms (new OEM parts), I tried removing the bushings. I had the arms rather, uh, damaged before I gave up. I've been hesitant to tackle the bushings on the axle for that reason. :D
 
There's a thread somewhere on this forum, complete with pictures, of a fellow using a combination of sockets, washers, allthread, nuts and of course a penetrating oil. Get hold of the bushings, and study the shape of the outer steel shell. Then go under the vehicle, and look at what's in the axle, so you can see which direction they need to be pushed/pulled/persuaded, and then figure a plan of attack. Just be careful with the right side mounts, the two separate pieces. I like to fashion a piece of wood to go between them, it keeps their shape, and helps them stay upright. I've had the best luck with a combination of drilling out the rubber, then trying to collapse the outer steel shell a little, make 'em fall right out.
 
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